KICKING ASS!

"I'm too old for this."

"Are you sure?"

Right brain argues with my left brain.

Daughter buys my house in a small Montana town.  I move into the city 50 miles away and live totally alone for the first time ever.  I'm short six months of celebrating my 75th birthday.

This is, in fact, an experiment, an adventure of sorts.  I sign a six-month lease on a small apartment.  Although I'm acquainted with a few people and can find my way around, the territory is essentially new.  Am I really too old for this?  Can I begin a new life in a city alone?  Why would I even want to?

As a four-year resident of a small town, I find limited opportunities to stretch myself.  Running for political office as a Democrat bucks the local trend.  It leaves me feeling unrewarded and on the outs with many colleagues.  Serving on a local Board as well as trying to re-capture use of a skill from my distant past means that I expend all my energies, burn out, and look for other ways to succeed.  How can I widen my horizons, increase my knowledge, grow?

First step:  Create a vision.  How do I see myself in the latter third of my life?  As a grandparent?  Not yet anyway.  A perpetual volunteer?  Maybe.  A person who has skills, talents, and dreams yet to be realized?  Yes, that's who I am.  What are my dreams?  Live life to its fullest.  Possibly reside in another country that has a different culture, traditions, food, and language.  (Research cannot say for sure but learning a new skill like another language may help build brainpower that helps hold off memory loss - WebMD.)  How can I bring that to pass?

Second step:  Embrace change.  Change happens anyway.  Why not meet it head-on?  I want adventure; I want to experience as much life as possible.  To do that, I must live independently.  Floating lazily down a stream while other family members make decisions about my life doesn't really cut it.  I research possibilities, choose options.  Sell my house, move into the city.

Third step:  Observe self through upcoming changes.  How do I plan my days in the city?  In which organizations do I have interest and want to participate?  How do I connect with others who may have similar interests?  Do I feel my goal of living life to its fullest is coming to fruition?  Will it be enough?  Or do I want to push myself even more?  If I do well in this transition of six months, does that mean I have found my goal or is there a next step?

Possible fourth step:  Assess my life within six months.  Is this a city where I continue to expand horizons, increase my knowledge, grow within a community?  Or does living overseas sound like a more interesting option?  If that's true, developing how-to skills is a part of that process and is already starting.

Life happens, right?  To the extent, however, that one can control anything at all, I want to make challenging choices.  I live to the best of my ability in this third "third".  It is as I wish -- a kick-ass life!